Korea's imports of rare earth materials from China dropped sharply in June from a year earlier amid Seoul's efforts to diversify import channels for the strategically important materials, customs data showed Tuesday.
According to the data by the Korea Customs Service (KCS), South Korea imported 126 tons of rare earth materials from China in June, down 35.6 percent on-year.
From a month earlier, however, the amount is up 36.3 percent, the data showed.
Rare earth materials such as scandium and yttrium are mostly used in hybrid and electric vehicles, liquid crystal displays and other high-tech devices. South Korea imports more than a half of its rare earth material needs from China.
The on-year drop is attributed to a surge in imports of such materials from Japan. Imports from Japan jumped from 15 tons to 57 tons over the cited period.
The increased imports from Japan are partly due to lower costs for processing some rare earth materials purchased in the neighboring country, the KCS explained.
It is also in line with the government's efforts to reduce its heavy reliance on China, a KCS official said. He added that a global slowdown played a role as well by reducing the overall demand for such materials.
The customs agency did not provide the total amount of imported rare earth materials for June. (Yonhap)